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BMW i8 Enters Iran

Four BMW i8's have been seen at the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, Akhbar Bank and Persian Khodro reported on Saturday.

The import of the luxury hybrids comes as Iran's customs administration announced last year that all hybrids imported into the country will be duty-free.

Financial Tribune contacted the customs office at the time which stated that in their initial phase of the new program, the only car available for import was the Lexus CT200h, a medium sized luxury hatchback.

The importer of the four supercars remains unknown for the moment however, the four hybrid BMWs could be part of a test procedure by a local customs office checking the market for the popularity of the vehicles.

If the model does become accepted in the long run it would be priced at $100,000 in the local market (four billion rials at the free market rate.

Financial Tribune reported the prospects of the car coming to Iran at the beginning of the year. If the car is eligible for 100% duty-free status, it would be priced in the range of a top end Hyundai Centennial, a luxury sedan sold currently in Iran.

The Tribune reached out to a BMW dealer in Tehran for comments on the issue however, he didn't have any information of the vehicles or their car dealers.